Audio has probably never been associated with environmentalism. Not that they’re mutually exclusive, but having killer audio is often thought of in terms of power—100 watts per channel and home theater systems with thousands of combined watts. Yummy yum yum yum. But all those watts cost you money as the electric meter spins round and round. And come to think of it, using that kind of juice may not be so good for the environment. What’s an audio lover to…
Because they are dedicated players, HD DVD players use about 1/10th the power of the least expensive Blu-ray player (the Playstation 3).
While the threat of global warming can be debated, vehemently dismissing environmentally friendly ideas is absurdly selfish.
in addition to Nuvo, check out On-Q’s whole house audio system with class d amplification.
Mr. Castle left out Class H amplifiers as an alternative to the traditional energy-wasting topologies (A and AB). Class H uses an intelligent power supply and multiple power rails. Like the transmission in a car, it shifts power rails depending on the signal demand. With Class H, you get the great sound of a Class AB amplifier (the signal remains analog) without the excess heat and wasted energy.
To my knowledge, AudioControl is the only company that consistently uses a Class H topology in their amplifiers (both home theater and whole-house audio).
Steve Castle is a striving environmentalist and senior editor for Electronic House Magazine.
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I could care less about “green” or the man-made global warming hoax that goes with it.